The present invention relates to a Shottky barrier type solid-state element for use in a film-shaped solar battery or the like and a method of producing the same.
In a method heretofore employed for producing a semiconductor solid-state element for use in a solar battery or the like, a solid-state element is usually formed by polishing a single-crystal bulk of, for instance, silicon (Si). Therefore, in the conventional method, it is very difficult to form a thin film of semiconductor the thickness of which is on the order of microns; and even if such a thin film is produced, the amount of material that can be utilized will be as low as several percent or less of the total. Moreover, it is very difficult for any conventional technique to provide an excellent Schottky barrier highly qualified for use in a solar battery. For instance, it is considered to be impossible or almost impossible for the conventional C.V.D. process, vacuum evaporation process or sputtering process to produce a high-quality crystalline film and, when a Schottky barrier is to be formed, to control and optimize its microstructure and composition and to make its density sufficiently high and its resistance sufficiently low.